The Raiders didn’t just beat the Saints in Week 3 - they kept getting useful answers from a few key spots while exposing the same soft spots in the secondary.
One of the clearest positives came from Gay, who kept cashing in early. For the third straight week, he made a real impact on the Raiders’ offense, accounting for nine of Las Vegas’ 16 first-half points on Sunday.
By halftime, Gay had nine points and the Saints had 13. He’s taking the momentum from a strong training camp and turning it into steady production right away.
That kind of reliability changes how the Raiders can play. They don’t need every drive to end in a touchdown when Gay is doing his job. Get the ball close enough, avoid a turnover, and they can usually count on points.
Dean kept his strong start rolling, too. The offseason addition has become one of the most important pieces on the field through three games, and he was active again against New Orleans. He set the tone against the run early and came up with multiple run-stuffing plays that limited the Saints to small gains.
Bowers also looked right at home in his return. Las Vegas’ star tight end was back to his usual level, finishing the first half with seven catches on nine targets for 87 yards. Against the Saints, he looked as hard to slow down as he had in training camp.
His presence gave the Raiders’ offense a different shape. Las Vegas entered Week 3 averaging nearly 27 points per game, and adding Bowers into that mix opened things up for the rest of the passing game. Receivers who had not been nearly as involved in Weeks 1 and 2 found more room to work.
The rougher news came in the back end, where the Raiders had to lean on veteran safety Isaiah Pola-Mao after rookie safety Treydan Stukes missed the entire week of practice and Sunday’s game with a concussion. Pola-Mao started last season at the spot and is set to become a free agent at the end of this season, but the Raiders have already seen why Stukes won the job to start the year.
Pola-Mao looked a step slow again, just as he did last season and in last week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. That showed up on the touchdown he allowed in the first quarter, and it kept showing up from there. Stukes has the closing speed Pola-Mao doesn’t.
There were also too many moments when Pola-Mao simply wasn’t where the Raiders needed him to be. Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Leonard has been with the team for the past three seasons, and with that familiarity he knows Pola-Mao well. That knowledge helps explain why Leonard went with a rookie at safety in the first two games.
Against New Orleans, Pola-Mao was the primary defender on both Saints touchdowns in the first half. The Saints kept going after him in the second half, too. No pass rush can cover for a back end that gives up completions as easily and as often as the Raiders did with Pola-Mao on the field.
Masses also had his hands full, but the rookie held up well enough. After last week’s breakout, asking him to repeat that kind of performance would have been a lot.
He didn’t need to do that against the Saints. He was serviceable, especially with the assignment of covering Chris Olave.
Olave was a much tougher test than any receiver the Chargers have, aside from Ladd McConkey. He gave the rookie a few lessons about what life looks like in the NFL, even if it didn’t turn into points. The Saints still went after Masses, and he was the primary defender on nearly all of Olave’s three first-half catches for 41 yards.
After winning AFC Defensive Player of the Week in his first start, Masses is going to keep seeing opponents test him. They’d rather challenge him than Eric Stokes, and the Chiefs will almost certainly do that plenty next Sunday.
In Other News...
Raiders Just Exposed One Problem That Could Matter Vs Chiefs
Las Vegas kept its momentum rolling with a 35-27 win over the Saints, and the third straight victory has made the early shift under Klint Kubiak look increasingly real. Brock Bowers remains the kind of weapon the offense can lean on, giving the Raiders a centerpiece who changes how defenses have to play them and helps keep the whole unit moving with more confidence.
Even with the offense trending up, the defensive side still has a wrinkle worth watching as the schedule tightens. Isaiah Pola-Maos performance against New Orleans spotlighted a spot that opponents can press, and the possible return of Treydan Stukes adds another layer to how Las Vegas may try to patch things before a matchup with the Chiefs brings a much sharper test. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Just Made An Early Statement Fans Will Bring Into Chiefs Week
A fast start to the season can change the mood around a team quickly, and the Raiders just gave theirs a little more staying power. Las Vegas beat the Saints 35-27 to move to 3-0, a mark the franchise has reached only one other time since 2002, and it did so after digging out from a third-quarter deficit.
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes, Brock Bowers made his 2026 debut with a touchdown, and the game wound up matching an NFL record with six scoring catches by tight ends. The bigger takeaway for the Raiders is what came after the break, when they flipped the game by forcing four fourth-quarter turnovers, the kind of surge that will linger once Chiefs week arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders 3-0 Start Still Comes With A Warning Fans Can't Ignore
The Raiders are 3-0 after knocking off the New Orleans Saints in Week 3, and the early record has given the rebuilding group under head coach Klint Kubiak a much-needed boost. Even so, the win came with reminders that this version of the team is still very much a work in progress, with issues showing up on both sides of the ball as the season gets rolling.
Run defense and pass protection remain among the bigger concerns, which kept the game from feeling as clean as the standings suggest. Las Vegas still found enough to finish the job, thanks in part to contributions from Mike Washington and Bowers, but the kind of uneven performance that can be hidden in September will need to tighten up before the next stretch of games gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]